ISLAMABAD - Five of the 12 Iranian border guards have been recovered, the foreign ministry said on Thursday.
The Revolutionary Guards personnel had been abducted by a militant group at a border post in the city of Mirjaveh in Sistan-Baluchestan province of Iran last month.
On October 16, Pakistan ‘noted with concern’ the reports of abduction of 12 Iranian border guards from Iran. Both Pakistan and Iran militaries, under a joint mechanism established since last year, are working to ascertain the whereabouts of the still missing Iranian guards.
“DGMOs (Directors General Military Operations) from two sides are coordinating actions in this regard. No effort will be spared to assist our Iranian brothers in finding the Iranian guards,” said a foreign ministry statement.
Later, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif visited Pakistan and met Pakistani counterpart Shah Mehmood Qureshi to discuss the abduction of Iranian guards near the Pakistan-Iran border.
Yesterday, Foreign Office spokesperson Dr Muhammad Faisal said: “With concerted efforts of Pakistani LEAs (law enforcement agencies) and armed forces, five abducted Iranian guards have been safely recovered.”
He added: “They are in good health, being handed over to Iranian authorities. Concerted efforts under vigilance of the military leadership are on to recover the other guards.”
An Iranian separatist group called Jaish al-Adl had claimed the abduction, saying that they had seized the personnel at the Mirjaveh border post in Sistan-Balochistan province of Iran.
Iran’s Revolutionary Guards had blamed ‘terrorist groups that are guided and supported by foreign forces’ for the abductions and demanded action by Pakistani authorities to help locate the captive guards.
According to Iran’s Press TV, Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari, the chief commander of Iran’s Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), said five of the 12 Iranian forces, who were kidnapped last month by Pakistan-based terrorists, have been freed.
The IRGC chief said Thursday that the freed forces are now in Pakistan and will soon return home, and that efforts are underway to secure the release of the remaining captives.
Jafari further said, “The kidnappers are seeking to exchange the abducted soldiers with several of their accomplices that are behind bars in the Islamic Republic for committing crimes.”
“This request is not acceptable,” added the senior military official.
Jafari further said the Islamic Republic will not accept any “irrational conditions set by the terrorists and will secure the release all its troops with full force and in cooperation with the Pakistani government.”
He added that securing the freedom of the captives “takes time,” but stressed that the “there should be no worries” over the matter.
Later in the day, IRGC spokesman Brigadier General Ramezan Sharif also said the Pakistani side had informed Tehran on Wednesday of the kidnappers' pledge to free five of Iranian forces "in the first phase."
The IRGC, he added, will continue to follow up on the fate of the abductees and leave no stone unturned to secure their release.
Over the past weeks, Iranian military and political officials have been in constant consultations with the Pakistani side over the fate of the hostages.
Tehran also offered joint operations with Islamabad to secure the release of the abductees.